Apparatus for withdrawing thread

ABSTRACT

A spindleless spinning machine having a rotatable spinning turbine and coaxial outlet by which the thread is withdrawn. The device is provided with means having deflecting zones or surfaces, at the end of the outlet farthest from the turbine. This deflecting means is adjustable to selectively present one of a number of arrays and combination of deflecting surfaces to the thread, in order to obtain more selective results.

United States Patent 1 Schon 1 Dec. 18, 1973 [5 APPARATUS FOR WITHDRAWING 3,440,812 4/1969 Stary et al 57/5889 THREAD 3,404,523 /1968 Kubovy etal... 57/58.89 3,210,923 l0/l965 Schlosser 57/5895 Inventor: Rudulf Schon, gart, m y 1127,499 10/1972 lsomura 57/58.89

[73] Assignee: SKF Kugellagerfabriken GmbH,

Schweirlfllfl, Germany Primary ExaminerDonald E. Watkins Filed: June Attarney-Murray Schaffer et al.

[21] Appl. N0.: 264,531

[57] ABSTRACT F'Alt'P"tDt 1 J 3 2 pplca "any aa A spindleless spinning machine having a rotatable l Germany "P21307244 spinning turbine and coaxial outlet by which the thread is withdrawn. The device is provided with [2%] means having deflecting Zones or Surfaces at the end 89 58 of the outlet farthest from the turbine. This deflecting l 1 o earc i l g means is adjustable to selectively present one of a l number of arrays and combination of deflecting surfaces to the thread, in order to obtain more selective [56] References Clted results UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,640,061 2/1972 Landwehrkamp 57/58.89 10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 11 g 2 1 H I I l APPARATUS FOR WITHDRAWING THREAD BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention relates to the spindleless spinning of textile fibers employing a rotating spinning turbine, having a thread outlet coaxial with it, through which the spun thread is withdrawn.

Conventionally, in the known spindeless devices employing an open spinning turbine, twisting of the thread withdrawn takes place on leaving the turbine at the end of the outlet duct nearest the side to the turbine. The twisting is made on a more or less rounded deflection surface or edge. After passing this deflection edge the thread is then either rolled up on a spool without further twisting or is passed over the end of the thread outlet channel farthest from the turbine to be twisted a second time on another more or less curved deflection edge, before it is rolled up.

From German Pat. No. 1,806,054 it has been known to deflect the thread at the nearest end of the thread outlet, relative to the spinning turbine, over two deflecting surfaces, of which one is formed as a toothed comb friction rubbing edge. This arrangement serves the purpose of giving the thread spun a sufficient false twist insuring the joining of the fibers at the wall of the spinning chamber and at the same time prevents wandering of the joining or splicing point which might otherwise occur through the swinging of the thread. Experience has, however, shown that the intended results are not always obtained, when obtained are not to the desired extent expected. It has been shown that many failures in spinning can be attributed to the swinging of the thread despite the smooth deflection surfaces lying between the frictional rubbing surface and the joining or splicing point. It has especially been shown that with the given formation of the deflecting zone according to the prior art, the quality of the spun thread, depending upon the fiber material used and depending upon the manufacturing parameters employed are very irregular.

Starting from this state of the art the present invention has the object to provide apparatus for spindleless spinning devices overcoming the prior art disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide improved means for withdrawing thread from the spinning turbine and to provide additional means for deflecting the thread.

Other objects and advantages will be seen in the following disclosure.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION According to the present invention a spindleless spinning machine having a rotatable spinning turbine and coaxial outlet by which the thread is withdrawn is providedwith means having deflecting zones or surfaces, at the end of the outlet farthest from the turbine. This means is adjustable to selectively present one of a number of arrays and combination of deflecting surfaces to the thread, in order to obtain more selective results.

Preferably, the device is formed as an exchangeable and/or rotatable insert part for the outlet. It has been shown to be of an advantage, when the insert has at least one area with at least one sharp deflection edge, so that when the thread is pulled over this area a rotating torque or twist is exerted on the thread. In this manner, the thread is twisted an additional time, creating a stronger thread. The machine may be thus operated at a decreased turbine speed or at increased thread pull off speed.

In order to adjust the inventive spinning device quickly and simply to any given manufacturing conditions and for the fiber material being used, it is preferred that the insert part be tubular and have several sectors or areas with respectively different numbers and arrangement of deflecting edges or surfaces. It would thus be possible to obtain a more or less degree of twist, according to the area, over which the thread is being pulled off, so that further parameters for obtaining optimal yarn quality also can be obtained. It has proven to be of special advantage, when one or more of the deflecting edges are formed as friction rubbing edges, whereby the friction edges are preferably provided with comb toothed formation.

It has also been proven to be of advantage, when the insert piece has at least one area with only a curved deflecting surface, over which the thread can be pulled off vertically, and the twist held to be a minimum.

Finally it is preferable that the insert piece be provided with mating holding means.

Full details are given in the following description and in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a spindleless spinning device showing the insert piece of the present in vention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the insert piece,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another insert piece, and

FIGS. 3a to 3d are sectional views through the corre sponding sectors of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION The present invention is exemplified in the apparatus schematically shown in FIG. 1 wherein the spinning assembly comprises a housing 1 having a pivotal cover 7 defining a hollow interior spinning chamber 9. Mounted in the spinning chamber 9 to rotate about its central shaft is an open face spinning rotor or turbine 2 in the mouth of which is arranged a fiber baffle or canopy 3. The baffle 3 has a hollow collar which defines the thread exit or outlet channel 4, and on the end facing the spinning chamber a deflecting area 5 over which the withdrawn thread (shown in dot dash lines) is pulled. The collar of the fiber baffle 3 is suitably mounted axially along the axis of turbine rotation in the conventionally pivoted cover 7, which also has, in known manner, a feed channel or tube 8 by which the yarn fibers are fed to the spinning turbine where they are spun and withdrawn at a point along the wall of the turbine 2, nominally called the binding or splice point. During the spinning operation the spinning chamber is held under vacuum, via a conduit 10 leading to a source of vacuum such as a suction pump. The cover 7 is provided with a central boss extending opposite to the lip of the spinning turbine 2 to enclose the mouth of the spinning turbine.

In accordance with the present invention, a tubular insert member or piece 13 is arranged within the cover 7. The insert is rotatably mounted to be adjusted about its central axis and/or it may be mounted to be removable and exchangeable. The insert has a central bore axially aligned with the collar of the baffle 3, and itself forming, on its end facing farthest. away from the spinning chamber, its own outlet channel 4. The outermost tip or surface of the bore of the insert 13 is formed as a sharp deflecting edge 14 over which the thread 6 can be made to bend at an angle to the axis of rotation of the spinning turbine, as it is pulled or withdrawn by a pair of nip rollers 11 to be wound about a winding apparatus 12 which may include suitable spools, bobbins or the like.

FIG. 2 shows a desirable form of the removable and rotatable insert 13. As seen inFIG. 2, in this version, the insert is bevelled and chamfered at its outer end to form two different deflecting edges for the thread 6. One of the edges, seen on the left side in FIG. 2, is cut back to form a slanted surface having a sharp deflecting edge 13a to consequently exert a strong turning effect or reaction on the pulled thread. Another portion of the insert is made with a smooth, gently curved deflecting edge 13d, which provides less turning effect. Therefore, when a strong or tight twist is desired in the thread, the insert 13 of FIG. 2 may be turned so that the thread 6 passes over the sharp edge 13a, however, when a strong turning effect is not desired, or when flber material is spun which is inclined to easily fibrillate so that it cannot be passed over a sharp edge, the

insert may be rotated to provide the thread with the gently curved surface 13d.

While the thread 6 can be withdrawn from either side of the insert by moving the thread itself, as seen in FIG. 2, itis of course preferred that the thread be pulled in one direction and the insert rotated into the desired position to present a selected array of edges to the thread. It is therefore preferable to provide the insert with mating detent and slot or similar means to effect positive location. Advantageously, either an upper stop element 14 (as seen in FIG. 1) or lateral notches 15 (as seen in FIG. 2) is provided by which the inserts may be positively set in place and held there during operation. The stop element 14 may be spring loaded or screw fastened, while the notches 5 may fit within mating detents on the housing cover.

To indicate the various arrangements that can be made, references are drawn to FIG. 3 which shows the tubular insert divided in to four sectors (a-d) each of which having a different array and different edge construction. The cross-section of the respective sectors are shown in enlargement in the sectional FIGS. 3a to 3d. In FIG. 3a a sector a is shown having two sharp edges 13a formed by stepping or enlarging the bore. In FIG. 3b sector b is shown in which three sharp edges 13a are provided by stepping the bore on two levels. In sector b the axial distance between each of the steps is uneven, however, this indicates clearly the versatility. The steps may of course be even depending on the nature of the twist or false twist desired. In FIG. 30 sector c is shown in which a comb-like frictional rubbing surface l3e is interposed between two sharp edges 13a. The comb-like surface is formed a plurality of teeth extending radially in the arc of the sector. The rubbing surface acts to stabilize the thread and reduce excessive vibration and swinging of thread. FIG. 13d illustrates sector d in which the gently arcuate wall 13d is provided serving as in the embodiment of FIG. 2.

It will thus be observed from the foregoing that the present invention provides a simple but effective means for providing spinning assemblies with thread outlet means suitable for every type of fiber, yarn construction. The removable or exchangable and/or rotatable and adjustable insert piece is capable of being made with any desired contacting surface and with any desired combination of two or more thread contacting surfaces, so that the material will pass over the most effective surfaces to produce the twist strength and quality of yarn required. This is of particular advantage since by the present invention the outer end of the thread outlet can now be made to maintain the yarn quality and structure which it had been given during its passage over the outlet surfaces at the end facing the spinning turbine.

The application is a companion to and relates to apparatus shown and described in each of the following US. applications, all filed on even date hereof and reference is made to the specifications, claims and drawings of each and their disclosures incorporated herein, as if more fully set out herein:

Ser. No. 264,528 corres. to German Appln. P 21 3O 739.l Wilhelm Braun, Mounting Apparatus for Spinning Assembly Ser. No. 264,527 corres. to German Appln. P 21 30 690.1, Gerhard Bartling Method and Apparatus for Joining Broken Ends Ser. No. 264,529 corres. to German Appln. P 21 30 722.2, Rudolf Schon, Apparatus for Spindleless Spinning Ser. No. 264,530 corres. to German Appln. P 21 30 728.0, Gerhard Bartling, Device for Open End Spinning Ser. No. 264,450 corres. to German Appln. P 21 30 725.5, Gerhard Bartling, Spindeless Spinning Machines The German applications were all filed on June 21, 1971. The assignee is common to all.

What is claimed:

1. Apparatus for spinning textile fibers in a spindleless spinng device having an open face spinning turbine and a coaxially arranged outlet for withdrawl of a spun thread therefrom, means insertable within the end of said outlet farthest from said spinning turbine having at least one surface for deflecting said thread, said means being adjustable to present selected deflecting surfaces with respect to the direction of travel of said thread.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means is removably mounted in said outlet.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means is rotatably mounted within said outlet.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has at least one sharp deflecting edge.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has at least one frictional rubbing surface and a sharp deflecting edge.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has a plurality of arcuate sectors, each sector having a different array and combination chosen from deflecting edges and rubbing surfaces.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said frictional rubbing surface comprises an array of teeth.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein at least one sector has a deflecting edge formed of a curved surface.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for securely seating said insert means in adjusted posi tion.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert and said outlet are provided with mating detent and slot means.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,778fl989 Dated December 18, 1973 Inventor) Rudolf Schon It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the eev r sheet, in the heading, item [75:] "Rudulf Schon should read Rudolf Schon Signed and sealed this 7th day of May 197A.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLET :HER,JR.

G. I-IARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PC5-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P6Q U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I!" O-flIi-Jlh 

1. Apparatus for spinning textile fibers in a spindleless spinng device having an open face spinning turbine and a coaxially arranged outlet for withdrawl of a spun thread therefrom, means insertable within the end of said outlet farthest from said spinning turbine having at least one surface for deflecting said thread, said means being adjustable to present selected deflecting surfaces with respect to the direction of travel of said thread.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means is removably mounted in said outlet.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means is rotatably mounted within said outlet.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has at least one sharp deflecting edge.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has at least one frictional rubbing surface and a sharp deflecting edge.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert means has a plurality of arcuate sectors, each sector having a different array and combination chosen from deflecting edges and rubbing surfaces.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said frictional rubbing surface comprises an array of teeth.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein at least one sector has a deflecting edge formed of a curved surface.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for securely seating said insert means in adjusted position.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said insert and said outlet are provided with mating detent and slot means. 